Good for a start
dikon | Greece | 07/28/2001
(3 out of 5 stars)
"This was only the beginning. I don't think this album deserves 3 stars. I 'd like to put 2,5 if there was the option. It has eight songs (not considering bonus tracks), but only four of them are good, in my opinion. Now, let's take a look (at the good ones): 1. Gypsy: I don't know what to say about this track, I don't simply like it. I think that it's one of the best classic rock tracks of all seasons. Very 'eavy.. that's what became Heavy Metal some years later. I never considered it boring, no matter how many times I listened to it. This is a diamond. 3. Come Away Melinda: A slow track, very emotional. It can touch your soul. Pay some attention to the lyrics, they are really good. A classic Heep song. 4. Lucy Blues: A blues track. I consider blues music very good; you can express your feelings in a very special way. This is simply a blues track, nothing more and nothing less. 7. I'll Keep On Trying: This song reminds me of another great classic rock group, Led Zeppelin. And that's enough. The other tracks (Walking In Your Shadow, Dreammare, Real Turned On, Wake Up) are not really bad. But I think they could be better. Of course, you can't ignore that it's a debut album and it can't be perfect. It's an experiment.. the best will follow."
Beginn
silbertanne4 | Offenbach | 11/24/2001
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Noch nicht so ausgereift wie die folgenden Platten, hat aber gute Momente. "Gypsy" gefällt mir nicht. Anspieltips "walking in your shadow", "Melinda" "Dreammare", die Bonus Tracks sind interessant. Seinen kreativen wie kommerziellen Frühling sollte die Gruppe bald mit "Salisbury" haben. Außerdem anschaffenswert: "Look at yourself", "Demons and Wizards" und "Magicians Birthday". Mit diesem cover schuf sich Uriah Heep ein dämonisches Image. Auf dem Cover ist übrigens David Byron abgebildet, der danach die Spinnweben lange nicht aus seinen Haaren entfernen konnte. Darauf wäre ich vor 28 Jahren nicht gekommen Thomas Richter"
I was only seventeen, fell in love with a gypsy queen...
Mark H. | Hanson, MA USA | 06/08/2009
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Uriah Heep burst out of the scene in mid- 1970 with `very `eavy...very `umble' which many critics immediately hated both in the UK and in the States. Famous Rolling Stone critic's quote aside, Heep would not only survive but thrive as a cult band with tremendous popularity to this very day on the continent. Often dubbed a poor man's Deep Purple, Uriah Heep may not have had the legendary success of the former, but they have out done Purple in terms of surviving as many personnel changes as possible. Mick Box is the lone member who has been with the band since its inception, now nearly forty years! Throughout much of the band's glory days, which really only lasted from 1970-1975, Box was joined by band co-founder and original lead vocalist David Byron and keyboardist, second guitarist and main composer Ken Hensley. These three formed the core of Uriah Heep's most recognizable lineups and also contributed greatly to the band being known derisively as the "Beach Boys of Heavy Metal" due to their soaring trademark vocal harmonies. The first album is very good and features the band's first really exceptional song- "Gypsy" which featured all of the elements of early heavy metal with its crunching guitar riffs and soaring vocals. Hensley also laid down a monstrous organ riff to complement Box and add to the song's power. Byron proved to be an expressive and talented vocalist but again he was complemented quite often by his band mates. Other standout tracks include "Walking in Your Shadow", "Dreamtime" and a cover of "Come Away Melinda" which highlighted the band's song dynamics and variety. When it came time for down and dirty blues, "Real Turned On", featuring stellar slide guitar work from Hensley, definitely fit the bill. "I'll Keep on Trying" and "Wake Up, Set Your Sights" were very much in the progressive vein of Heep's contemporaries. For very early seventies hard rock with a touch of Deep Purple but also with elements of Queen, then Uriah Heep's debut record deserves your notice and an occasional download or two - especially for "Gypsy"........she told me .....hold on..."
Track Listings (7) - Disc #1